Chapter 13: The Prince!

The Comet Star arrived in orbit around Kabocha a couple days after departing Boron. The ship headed down to the planet, its crew preparing to carry out their task. They anticipated having to run like hell once they succeeded, though. "So…where are we setting down?" Turles asked, as they broke through the atmosphere. "There's a valley near the capital city. We'll hide the ship there," Amond said. "With any luck, we'll abduct the prince, smuggle him to the ship, and leave."

"In broad daylight?" Beets questioned, stepping onto the bridge. "Well, we may have to improvise if that fails," Amond said, eliciting a chuckle from Turles. "Leave the planning to me," he said. Amond nodded, laughing. "Sure," he said. "That's not my strong suit. Cacao usually comes up with the plans, not me."

"Speaking of Cacao, where is he?" Turles asked. Before Amond could answer, however, the cyborg in question walked onto the bridge. "Right here," he said, approaching. "I have the information that we gathered before accepting this job."

"So…what do you know?" Turles asked, intrigued. "The palace is unguarded during the middle of the day, during shift change. We shall sneak inside then," Cacao replied. "In addition, the average guard is no more dangerous than one of Frieza's grunts."

Turles smiled, noting that this would be immensely easy to pull off if that was the case. "So, what do we do once we're inside?" he asked. "Our employer gave us a floorplan of the palace when we were hired," Amond said. Turles nodded again. "Ah," he replied. "So…how do we find this prince?" he questioned. "According to the floor plan, his room is on the second floor, in the left corner," Cacao answered. "How do you know that he'll be there?" Turles asked. "Our employer promised us that he would be there," Cacao replied. "I hope that he was not lying."

Turles nodded, wondering what the employer would gain from lying, but did not voice his confusion. "Are we ready to leave, then?" he asked. Amond and Cacao nodded simultaneously. "Yes," Amond said. "We are. I suggest bringing someone else along for backup, as well."

Turles nodded, thinking of who they should bring. There were seven people on the ship: himself, Amond, Cacao, Beets, Taro, Zarloe, and Fasha. He felt it prudent to leave someone with the ship in case they needed a quick escape, so that was going to happen.

Beets was going to be useless in a fight, so he decided to leave him out of it. He settled for taking Fasha, so the team was himself, Fasha, Amond, and Cacao. Zarloe, Taro, and Beets were going to remain on the ship in case they needed a swift exit. "Alright," he said. "We're ready."

Amond nodded, and the group set out for the Kabochan royal palace.

Outside the palace…

The group sneaked up to the edge of the perimeter. "So where's our entrance?" Turles asked, observing the building. "There is a side door near the back of the building," Cacao replied. "Which side?" Turles asked. "On the right," Cacao replied. "We shall make our way in through there."

Turles nodded, cracking his knuckles. "Let's do this," he said. Amond nodded, stepping up beside him. "That's the spirit!" he said. "Come on. While the shift change is still going on!"

Turles nodded, gesturing for the group to move. They successfully managed to sneak in through the side door, finding the guards to be mostly gone, stepping out into an empty hallway. "So…where are we going again?" Fasha asked, glancing around. "Up to the second floor," Cacao said. "I will lead us there."

Fasha nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way. Cacao nodded in return, moving on. The group successfully managed to dodge all of the guards (not that they noticed any, that is) and made it up the stairs to the second floor.

"The target's room is located in the far right corner of this floor," Cacao said. "We should make our way there."

Turles nodded. "Let's," he said. "I don't want to be here any longer than we have to be." Cacao nodded. "I agree. That would bring more risk than we've already experienced." Turles nodded again, gesturing for Cacao to keep moving.

Eventually, however, the group arrived at the prince's room, sneaking inside. The occupant immediately spun around to face them. However, he did not seem scared of them- not one bit. "You must be Amond and Cacao," he said, observing. "That's right," Amond said. The prince smirked. "The name's Daiz," he said. "And I'm the one that hired you."

The group seemed shocked at that, not really knowing how to respond. "So…you staged your own kidnapping?" Turles asked, after a few moments. Daiz nodded, though he did not respond. "Why?" Amond asked. "Because I hate this place," Daiz said. "Who wants to rule a backwater dust ball like this?" The burly alien chuckled. "I get you," he said. "How about you join up with us, then?" "Yes," Turles said. "I am assembling a team to take on Frieza. The universe could be ours if we succeed!"

Daiz considered the offer for a few seconds, stroking his chin. "Sounds interesting," he said. "I'm in." Turles smiled, nodding. "Good," he said, offering a hand. "Glad to have you aboard." Daiz nodded in return, shaking Turles' offered hand. "Come on. I'll help you steal the money from the royal treasury."

Amond smiled. "Now you're talking!" he said. "Yeah," Daiz replied. "I promised you compensation. And it gives me a chance to screw my old man's finances over!"

"I take it that you don't get along?" Turles questioned. "We don't," Daiz said, nodding. "He thinks that I should be the perfect warrior king. And I don't give two shits about taking over for him." Turles smiled. "Then you'll fit right in with us," he said. "But how do we get past the guards?" Daiz smiled. "Don't worry. I have a plan," he said. "I'll get you there and out of the palace without any fuss."

"And what is that plan, may I ask?" Turles questioned. Daiz looked to him, his face taking on a mischievous smirk. "You'll see soon enough," he said. Turles nodded, though he was not entirely certain. "I'll trust you for now," he said. "But betray us, and you'll pay the price."

Daiz nodded, but otherwise did not say a word. Turles said nothing in return, and gestured for Daiz to lead the way. They had a mission to accomplish, after all.

"H…hey! L-l-let him go!" a guard said, nervously. "Or what?" Fasha snarled, holding a large knife to Daiz's throat, per the plan. "Or we'll shoot!" the guard replied, gesturing to the squad backing him up. Each held a rifle in his hands, all aimed at the Saiyan, hoping not to hit her hostage. "I don't think so," Fasha said. "My teammates will be here soon, so I suggest you stand down."

"I…do as she says!" Daiz said, putting on a 'terrified hostage' act. "She'll kill me if you move!" The guards still seemed unsure of what to do, so Fasha decided to motivate them. She smiled, licking her lips and smiling evilly. "All I have to do is slash his throat," she said. "And then I'm coming for you!"

The whole group seemed to collectively wet their pants at that declaration, and none of them dared move a muscle. "That's right, fools!" Fasha said. "One move, and your little prince is a dead man!"

Again, the guards seemed paralyzed by indecision. Fasha was starting to wonder where Turles and the others were, so she decided that she'd terrify the poor fools some more. "Have you ever heard of the Saiyan transformation under a full moon?" she asked. "Well, have you?"

The lead guard shook his head, clearly terrified out of his mind. "Well," Fasha said. "Let me enlighten you. We Saiyans transform into massive beasts called Oozaru under the full moon. One would be capable of dominating this entire planet!"

The guards seemed entirely losing their minds at this point, internally panicking about what they were going to do. Daiz mentally rolled his eyes. "Damn fools," he thought. "We won't have another full moon for at least a month. And even if it was a full moon, it's daylight outside ...and there are no windows in this room!"

Fasha had realized all of this as well, but she didn't care. She was only saying any of this so that she could terrify the guards. That, and, well, she was just the distraction. Before any of the guards could react, a purple beam of ki came shooting in, causing a tremendous boom. Turles soon came stepping through a massive hole in the wall, his hand still raised. "How'd you like that Calamity Blaster?" he quipped, glancing down at the corpse of one of the guards he'd just killed.

"Took you long enough," Fasha snarked, releasing Daiz. She slipped the knife back into the sheath on Daiz's waist. Turles chuckled as he approached. "Well, it took us longer to get around behind the vault than we thought it would," he said. Fasha rolled her eyes. "Sure. But how are we going to get the loot out?" she asked. "We're swinging the ship around," Turles replied. "I already sent Taro a message."

Fasha nodded, though she was still unsure of the plan. "So, Daiz," Turles asked, "how was being a hostage?" Daiz chuckled. "Your woman is a convincing actress," he said. "I didn't have to do much work other than pretend to be scared."

Turles nodded, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "Alright, then," he said. "Shall we enter the vault?" Daiz and Fasha nodded, following Turles through the hole in the wall he'd created with his attack. "Holy shit…" Fasha said, upon seeing the massive piles of credit chips and other valuables stored in the vault. "There's an estimated five trillion credits in here," Daiz said. "And that's not including all of the gemstones, crowns, and other things in here."

"Let's get ready," Amond said. "We're gonna have to fill a lot of cargo crates with money and other valuables."

Turles nodded. "Right. Well, I told Taro that we needed every crate that she could find that was empty," he said. "Maybe that will be enough." Daiz chuckled. "We only need about half of this stuff in here to be set for life," he said. "And that will more than fund whatever organization it is that you run."

Turles nodded again. "I agree," he said. "I have some plans that need funding…"

Daiz nodded in response. "You know," he said. "This is likely going to throw the palace into high alert. We'll have to fight our way out." Turles looked over at Fasha. "That's fine," he said. "I think someone needs to let their aggression out."

Fasha shot him an annoyed look for that, but she didn't say a word. She seemed to agree with him, even if she didn't want to admit it. "When is Taro supposed to be here?" she asked. "Soon," Turles said. "I gave her precise instructions as to where to fire the ship's weapons. We'll blow the roof open, and then we can make off with the loot."

Fasha nodded as Amond approached. "Me and Cacao will take point at the door. I imagine that we'll be up to our eyeballs in guards soon," he said. Turles nodded. "Good idea," he replied. "We'll need it." Amond nodded in response, heading off to find his partner. Turles, for his part, decided that he needed to take stock of what he wanted to make off with.

The credit chips were particularly appealing, having raw cash. He could make off with some of the other valuables and sell them, but he figured that the credit chips would be more immediately useful. He knew multiple places where he could use them without anyone asking any questions.

They also made it where he could hire a veritable army of mercenaries to protect his network. The Saiyan smiled- his network of spies was about to evolve- he was finally going to be able to build his own empire to rival Frieza's.

Twenty minutes later…

A mighty boom shook the building as the roof was suddenly blown apart by Turles' ship. He smiled as the ship swung low, and Beets and Zarloe lowered the ramp. "So…we're loading up as many crates as possible?" Beets asked, dropping down into the vault. Turles nodded. "Yes. And then, we're gonna use our ship's cargo hook to lift them up," he said. "Right," Beets said. "I forgot that your ship is a heavily modified cargo freighter."

Turles smiled, though he said nothing as Zarloe began dropping the crates down. "Start loading!" he shouted. Beets and Fasha immediately began doing so as Zarloe finished dropping the free crates down and promptly flew down himself. "If we're gonna do this, then we need someone to operate the hook," he said. "I know," Turles said. "We'll do it- first, let's load these crates."

Zarloe nodded, heading off to gather as much as he could. Turles smiled and watched him go, soon heading to aid them. As they began, however, guards began pouring through the door and the hole in the wall. "Prince Daiz!" one of them shouted, approaching. "Are you hurt?"

Daiz shook his head. "Nah. We're just making off with the money," he said. "Wait- wha-?" the guard started, only to be cut off by Daiz promptly snapping his neck. The guard dropped to the ground dead as their captain approached. "You've betrayed us…" he said. "Why?"

"Because, Lormis," he said, "this planet is a useless backwater. I have no intention of ruling it. And I want freedom." Captain Lormis had no response, merely staring in shock. "You can die now," Daiz said, raising his hand. "Cosmic Flasher!" he shouted, firing a massive ki wave. Lormis narrowly evaded it, recovering his senses. "How dare you!" he snarled. "What would your father think?"

"I don't give a damn about what my father thinks!" Daiz replied. "And in case you didn't know, you can join him in hell!" Captain Lormis sighed and braced himself for combat, resolving to kill the boy if he had to. He'd clearly let outsiders into the royal vault with the intention of pilfering it, so punishment was clearly in order.

All hell soon broke loose as Amond and Cacao unleashed blasts of their own, obliterating massive groups of guards.

The act caused the tensions to burst, and a massive melee broke out inside the absurdly huge vault. Turles stepped away from where he, Fasha, Beets, and Zarloe had been loading their crates, seeing what was going down. "I'll be right back," he said. "We have bugs to squash."

Fasha nodded, returning to dumping armfuls of credit chips into the nearest crate. "Right. Save some for me," she said. "No promises," Turles replied. Fasha laughed and returned to her work as Turles took off towards the fighting, intending to keep the guards from stopping them.

Over where Daiz was…

The rebelling Kabochan prince decked Captain Lormis across the face, soon following it up with a kick to the chest. As the captain of the guard recovered, Daiz slammed his elbow down, striking him in the face. Lormis got to his feet, his eyes narrowing. "Why do you continue to resist?" he asked. "I do not wish to have to kill you."

Daiz spat at that declaration. "Nothing you can say will change my mind, old man!" he snarled, rushing in once more. Lormis barely had time to raise his guard as Daiz threw a powerful haymaker. Daiz chose to capitalize on that, slinging a nasty left hook that caught Lormis' cheek, sending him falling to the ground once again.

Daiz approached him with a smug look on his face, preparing to finish him. Only to suffer a powerful uppercut, sending him stumbling backwards. Lormis leapt to his feet, his face taking on a reluctant expression. "I…did not want to make this decision, but you've left me no choice," he said.

Daiz recovered just in time for Lormis to strike him hard in the stomach, leaving him bowled over in pain. The older Kabochan soon followed that up with a strike to the face, sending Daiz back to the ground. Lormis seemed to be almost saddened as he snatched Daiz from the floor and decked him hard in the face, before flinging him into the air. He then took off, shooting up into the air above Daiz.

The rebellious prince was unable to defend himself from Lormis' axe handle, which sent him flying into the hard vault floor. He struggled to get up as Lormis descended, a ki spear formed in his left hand. "I am truly sorry, young Daiz," Lormis said. "But I am sworn to defend this palace and this planet. You have sided with these ruffians, so you must pay the price."

Before he could fire the attack, however, Daiz leapt to his feet and smashed his fist against Lormis' face. The older Kabochan again went staggering backwards, his ki spear faded. "Shut your mouth, you old fool!" Daiz snarled, the hostility evident in his voice. "I don't give a damn about ruling this stupid backwater!" he shouted, smacking Lormis in the chest with a potent strike. He followed that up with a kick to the ribs and a knee to the gut.

Lormis stumbled, barely managing to hold his footing as he gasped for air. Daiz approached, still very obviously angered. "I'll tell you for the last time, Lormis," he said, his voice a low growl. "My father is a fool! And staying here is merely stifling my potential!"

Lormis found himself unable to offer a rebuttal as Daiz again smacked him away with a swift right hook. Daiz quickly gave chase, cutting behind him and kicking him back the other way. Lormis dropped to the ground, barely recovering fast enough to dodge a ki wave from Daiz. "What inspired such vitriol?" he asked, as his opponent stopped, staring him down. "YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW, DO YOU?!" Daiz shouted at the top of his lungs. "WELL, I'LL ENLIGHTEN YOU, DAMN IT!"

Lormis was caught off guard by the shouting, and as such was unable to block the kick that Daiz threw his way, sending him flying into a wall. The Kabochan prince soon approached him, his voice dropping to a low growl once more. "My father is a fool," he said. "And he's never been the same after my mother died."

Lormis blinked, as if to say 'that's it?' But before he could voice that thought, Daiz continued. "I've always felt like I was living in his shadow. Like I was nothing but a second fiddle…a pawn, someone that my oaf of a father could live vicariously through."

Lormis swallowed hard, not knowing how he should respond. "I…I…didn't know you felt this way," he said. "LIKE HELL YOU DIDN'T!" Daiz snarled. "YOU'VE BEEN THERE WHEN I ARGUED WITH MY FATHER! AND YOU KNOW WHAT, LORMIS? YOU SIDED WITH THE FAT, LAZY, OAFISH BASTARD!"

Lormis froze, realizing that Daiz was right- his faster, King Heiz, was becoming more and more corrupt and lazy by the day. And he'd done nothing to stop him- nothing to help Daiz, obviously the next generation. Before he could get out an apology, Daiz snatched him up and smashed him across the chest. He cried out in pain, and then Daiz returned the favor from earlier by flinging him into the air. Only, Daiz did not fly up after him. He fired a Cosmic Flasher, intending to fry Lormis and end the fight right then and there.

Lormis recovered just in time to raise his guard, but not fast enough to dodge or counter the blast, which washed over him with tremendous force. Lormis fell to the ground in a smoking heap. His armor was mostly gone, and his body was covered in burns. Daiz smirked as he approached him, preparing to finish him, on the off chance that he survived the attack.

Daiz was in for a surprise as Lormis leapt back to his feet, cracking him across the jaw with another powerful strike. He followed that one with a kick to the stomach, causing Daiz to cough up a little blood. Following that, Lormis raised his arm, with the palm of his hand facing Daiz. "Unfortunately, I cannot allow this to continue," he said. "FOR THE SECURITY OF OUR PLANET!"

Daiz flinched as Lormis unleashed a massive blast of his own. The rebellious prince found himself blasted backward into a wall, where the blast promptly exploded. When the smoke cleared, Lormis sighed sadly. Daiz had been his protege, and striking him down had not been an act that he'd taken lightly. Nonetheless, he decided that the boy deserved a proper burial.

But before he could do anything, an angered Daiz blasted out of the rubble. His armor was mostly gone, his body was covered in cuts and burns, and he was very clearly running on fumes. "I hate you!" Daiz snarled, preparing to charge. "I will do what I must," Lormis replied, forming another ki spear.

Both unleashed a war cry, preparing themselves for one last round of combat. Daiz rushed forward, preparing to strike Lormis, who tossed his ki spear. It struck Daiz through the shoulder, leaving him in severe pain. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Lormis approached, kicking him square in the chest, leaving him sprawled out on his back. They stared each other down, neither willing to give up. Daiz shot his knee up, striking the approaching Lormis in the jaw. Lormis reeled back, buying Daiz enough time to get back to his feet. He pushed through the pain of his wounded shoulder, charging in to strike.

He unleashed a barrage of powerful strikes, beating the ever-living shit out of his old mentor, leaving him battered. Snarling, he followed that one up with a savage kick to the ribs, breaking at least a few of them. Lormis cried out in pain and clutched his side as Daiz unleashed a roundhouse kick that struck him in the cheek, sending him crashing to the ground in a heap. Daiz stared at him, an angry look on his face. "You aren't getting out of this alive!" he shouted.

Lormis struggled to his feet, barely able to stand at this point. "I will not stop fighting!" he vowed. "You'll have to kill me first!" Daiz chuckled darkly. "That's the idea," he said. Lormis bit his lip, realizing that he just might be in over his head.

Elsewhere, with Amond and Cacao…

Amond crushed the skull of one guard under his massive bicep as Cacao obliterated several more of them with his arm cannon. "This is entirely too easy," Amond said. "None of these guys are any sort of challenge for us." Cacao nodded. "I agree," he said. "The only one with a decent power level is currently engaged with Daiz."

Amond nodded, having noticed that with his own scouter. "I see that," he said, casually backhanding a guard away as he did so. Cacao nodded in return as he unleashed a wave of ki blasts, killing dozens more guards. "Just how many of these weaklings are there?" Amond asked, wiping out several more with a pair of ki waves.

"At last count, there were three thousand, four-hundred and seventy-one," Cacao answered. "That was rhetorical," Amond said, slamming one guard into the ground with one arm and strangling another with the other. "Understood," Cacao said, raising his arm cannon. "How about we dispose of these fools in their entirety?"

Amond nodded with a smile, dropping the two guards he'd been fighting. "Now you're talking," he said, raising his hands. They soon stood side by side, and the intimidated guards began backing away in fear. "Oh look, Cacao," Amond said. "They're already scared, and we haven't even shown off our moves yet."

His cyborg partner nodded, though he did not respond. "Which plan are we going with?" Amond asked, relishing the looks of fear on the guards' faces. "Let's go for plan C," Cacao replied. Amond nodded. "Alright! Overwhelming force!" he said, firing a massive ki wave. At least half of the remaining guards were wiped out in one shot, leaving the others utterly terrified of what was to come. Cacao smiled at them, and promptly unleashed an equally massive blast from his arm cannon, vaporizing the remaining guards. "Mission successful," he said. "Weaklings have been terminated."

Amond nodded, slapping his companion on the back. "Right you are," he said. "How about we go and find some more of them to kill?" "This proposal is acceptable," Cacao said. Amond nodded again, chuckling. "We've got to get you talking less like a robot," he said. "I am seventy-five percent machine," Cacao replied. "Such a manner of speech is expected."

Amond sighed, vowing that he'd train his partner out of that habit eventually. "Let's go," he said. "I need some more skulls to crush." Cacao nodded, and his mechanical eye flashed green. "After scanning the room, Fasha and the others at the ship could use our help the most," he said. "Then let's go over there!" Amond replied. Cacao nodded in response, and gestured for Amond to take the lead. The cyborg's burly partner nodded and took off like a rocket, heading straight for the next fight. Cacao took off after him, not wishing to lose out on any potential kills that he could collect.

Over where Fasha, Zarloe, and Beets were…

"This is more work than it's worth!" Fasha snarled, blasting several Kabochan guards away. "Tell me about it!" Zarloe shouted back, vaporizing several of them himself. "We're being pushed back!" Fasha grit her teeth so hard that they started to hurt. "I know that!" she snapped. "And it's starting to piss me off!" Zarloe nodded. "Yeah! Beets could kill them with his raygun, so why are we struggling?" he said, frustrated. Fasha nodded in return, unleashing a blast, killing several more approaching guards.

"Speaking of Beets, where is he?" she asked. "I think he's hiding behind those crates over there," Zarloe said, indicating the loaded crates that had yet to be lifted onto the ship. Fasha sighed. "I'm gonna beat him into shape!" she swore. "If we make it out of here alive, that is!" "Don't talk like that!" Zarloe said. "These guys aren't that tough!"

"Yeah, but we're getting worn down by their sheer numbers!" Fasha shouted back, vaporizing several more. Zarloe nodded, but didn't respond, as he was too busy spamming his ki blasts, cutting down guards left and right.

Fasha sighed again, unleashing another blast as Zarloe continued slaughtering guards like some kind of living machine gun. "Where the hell are you, Beets?!" she shouted, angrily. The spindly Saiyan poked his head over a loot crate, surveying the fight.

"This…this is gonna suck," he muttered, before leaping the crate and firing his blaster at a guard, dropping him. "I'm here!" he said, sliding into cover near Fasha. "About damn time!" she snarled, as he popped up and killed two more with well-placed shots. "Good shot!" she said, as he downed a fourth. "I'm pretty good with a blaster!" Beets called back. "Not so much with my ki."

"You could do so much more with it, though!" Fasha said, unleashing another ki wave- taking out several more guards. Despite their best efforts, more of them kept pouring in, seemingly overwhelming them. "Is this every soldier on the damn planet?!" Fasha grumbled, annoyed. "Apparently!" Beets said, firing his blaster a few more times. "If only we could turn you into an Oozaru!"

"You and I both, buddy!" Fasha replied. "If we had a full moon, these assholes would already be dead!" Beets nodded, though he wasn't sure of his own transformation. He had a power level sub one hundred, so he wasn't sure what transforming would do for him. Fasha, on the other hand, would crush them all with little effort. If she could control her Great Ape form, that is. Beets sure as hell couldn't, though he hadn't been much good in a fight for his entire life. He'd deserted the army, after all- no training for him.

Not that he'd have been any good at it anyway, as skinny and weak as he was. He raised his weapon and shot down four more guards, but the sheer number of enemy combatants meant that no matter how many he killed, the ranks immediately reformed. Just as he thought that they were about to be overrun, a massive blast came in and scattered the enemy forces. Amond dropped in as the smoke cleared, unleashing another blast that took out even more.

Beets smiled, slumping back into his cover to rest- the worst was about to be over. Cacao soon landed as he popped his head back out, watching the cyborg annihilate more of the guards. He squeezed off a couple more shots, killing two more guards as Fasha celebrated.

"Hell yeah, guys!" she shouted, earning a nod from Amond, who promptly vaporized more of the approaching enemies. Beets watched as she leapt into battle, laying waste to the now disoriented enemy force with a barrage of ki blasts, herding them into a group for Amond to vaporize. He nodded her way, smiling. Fasha returned the nod and unleashed a blast of her own, taking out even more of the guards. Zarloe got in on the fun too, leaping over to add his own blast into the mix, taking out several more.

This went on for several more minutes, resulting in the enemy force being entirely wiped out by the quintet of warriors (mostly, Fasha, Zarloe, Amond, and Cacao), enabling them to finally take a rest. "Let's stop for a moment," Fasha said, breathing heavily. "I agree," Zarloe said. "And then we can load these crates onto the ship." Fasha nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Then we can do that."

"Do you guys know where Turles is?" Beets asked, interrupting. "No," Amond replied. "What do you mean, 'no'?!" Fasha demanded. "I haven't seen him in a while," Amond said. "He's probably going after Daiz."

"Where's Daiz now?" Fasha asked. "He's been fighting the leader of the guard troop for a while," Cacao said. "The fight is concluding, I believe."

Fasha sighed, accepting the reasoning. "I guess he'll be fine…" she said. "There's no way in hell that any of these guys could have taken Turles down…"

"Right," Amond said. "So we'll just wait here and load the loot onto the ship." Fasha sighed, moving towards the ship. "I'll operate the cargo crane," she said, after a few minutes of silence. "You guys move the crates when the bay doors open." Amond nodded. "Got you," he said. "Just get up there and do it. I can carry them myself." Fasha nodded in return, though she was skeptical of the burly alien's claim that he could move crates himself.

Back where Daiz was….

Daiz suffered a nasty hit from Lormis, who charged in to follow it up with a kick to the chest. The younger Kabochan recovered just in time to block a punch aimed at his face, and retaliated with an uppercut. Lormis staggered back as Daiz unleashed a ki blast, hitting him square in the chest. "Give up already, old man!" he snarled. "Never!" Lormis replied. "I meant it when I said you'd have to kill me!"

Daiz's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand for another Cosmic Flasher. "So be it!" he said, preparing the attack. "I'm not going out like that!" Lormis replied, firing a blast of his own. "Shining Burst Cannon!"

Both blasts collided, resulting in a tremendous explosion that rocked the entire room. When the smoke cleared, both were heavily injured from it. Daiz and Lormis stared each other down once again. In the prince's hand was his knife, and in Lormis' hand was one of his ki spears. Both knew that their battle was reaching its conclusion, and neither of them were simply going to lie down and die. But that was it, wasn't it? The whole point of this fight had been to kill the other- as only one man could walk away alive.

Both Daiz and Lormis assumed that it would be themself, but the conclusion had not yet been reached. The outcome of the fight had yet to be decided, though both fighters knew that it was drawing near. "Are you ready to end this, old fool?" Daiz asked. "Yes," Lormis replied. "I hope you'll find peace in death, young rebel."

They stared each other down, knowing that this was the end. One of them was about to die, and the victor would have to live with their decision. They charged each other, engaging in a brutal struggle with their respective weapons. Daiz slashed Lormis' cheek open with his knife as the older combatant stabbed his spear through Daiz's wounded shoulder. The younger combatant screamed in pain, kicking him off. Lormis recovered as Daiz struggled to his feet. "You….you'll pay for that!" he snarled, charging. Lormis remained silent, merely raising his fists.

He decked Daiz across the face as he closed in, causing him to stumble back. He threw a second, staggering him again, before sweeping his legs. Daiz fell as Lormis unleashed a third haymaker, once more laying him out on his back.

He formed a ki spear in his hand, preparing to end the fight. "I'm sorry, young Daiz," he said, approaching him to end the fight. Daiz stared him down, preparing a ki blast. But the chance to finish the other was soon taken from them- a purple blast erupted through Lormis' stomach, leaving a gaping hole in his body.

Both Kabochans looked shocked, apparently not knowing what had happened. Lormis soon collapsed, mortally wounded. Behind him stood Turles- his extended palm smoking from the Calamity Blaster that he'd just fired. "You're welcome," he snarked. "I took care of your little problem."

Daiz struggled to his feet, impressed at Turles' ruthlessness. "Is this how you Saiyans fought all the time?" he asked, his breathing labored. Turles nodded. "Pretty much," he said. Daiz chuckled. "Then color me impressed," he said.

Turles smiled, though he said nothing in return. Daiz returned the smile, accompanying it with a nod of respect. He then turned and spat on Lormis' body, to Turles' amusement. "Did you really despise him that much?" he asked. Daiz nodded. "I did. He reminds me of my father and everything that's wrong with this planet."

Turles nodded, though he didn't actually respond. "What now?" Daiz asked. "We leave," Turles replied. "Let's get over to my ship. Hopefully the others have loaded up the loot by now." Daiz nodded, allowing Turles to take the lead.

Later….

The Comet Star shot off into space, its crew having successfully pulled off its mission. "You look like shit," Amond said, upon seeing the heavily wounded Daiz. "I feel like it, too," Daiz replied. "Old Lormis was tougher than I thought." Amond chuckled. "Well, you survived," he said. Daiz nodded. "Yeah, but that was less me and more Turles blowing a hole through his gut." Amond nodded, laughing. "I guess so," he said. Daiz nodded again as Fasha approached him. "Hey, you," she said. "Daiz."

The Kabochan turned to face her. "Yeah?" he asked. "I'm gonna take you to the ship's healing pod," she replied. "You could use a good hour or two inside it." Daiz nodded, wincing at his wounded shoulder. "Alright," he said. "Lead the way." Fasha nodded in return. "Come on, then," she said. "I'll take you there."

Daiz followed her out of the room, leaving Amond, Cacao, and Beets alone. Zarloe had gone off to sleep somewhere, and Taro and Turles were flying the ship. So that left the burly alien, the scrawny Saiyan, and the cyborg alone in the common area. "You need to learn how to fight," Amond said. "I don't think so," Beets said. "I'm perfectly fine where I am."

"No," Cacao said. "You are not. Me and Amond have elected to whip you into shape as a viable member of this team." "Did Turles put you up to this?" he asked. "No," Cacao replied. "Fasha did, actually," Amond said. "She said that you're gonna be useful whether you want to or not."

Beets sighed, noting that he could picture Fasha saying that. "I'm not sure what to think about that," he said. Amond chuckled. "Just don't think about it at all," he replied. "We're gonna train you into a real fighter." Beets sighed, accepting his fate. "When do we start?" he asked. "I'm not sure yet," Amond said. "We'll figure that out when we get there."

Beets nodded, shuddering at the thought of what his training would entail. Amond seemed to pick up on that, and he slapped him on the shoulder. "It won't be that bad," he said. "You Saiyans grow stronger from surviving a beating. You'll get tough in no time."

Beets swallowed hard, anticipating a lot of pain in his future….

Up on the bridge…

"What are we doing now?" Taro asked. "We're going to go and bust Lakasei and Rasin out of prison," Turles replied. "That's risky," she said. "Such an act will make us wanted criminals of the highest order." "As if we aren't already?" Turles replied. "I concede your point," Taro said. "We've done a lot of things that would make the Galactic Patrol want to arrest us already."

Turles nodded. "Most of them in the Saiyan Army," he said. Taro nodded in reply, chuckling slightly. "That was a dark time in our lives," she said, dramatically. Both siblings shared a laugh at that, finding it greatly amusing. "You're right," Turles said a few minutes later, entirely serious. "It was the darkest part of our lives."

Taro nodded, thinking back to her disappearance. "That time is long gone," she said. "And it's best that we don't dwell on it." Turles nodded. "You're right," he said. "Yeah," Taro replied. "Let's change the subject again. What are we doing after we bust your little gremlins out of prison?"

What Turles said next brightened Taro's face considerably. "I think it's high time that we went to Earth and recruited Bardock," Turles said. "YES!" Taro replied, excitedly. "Why didn't you lead off with that?" Turles chuckled. "Because you'd react like this," he said. Taro laughed, but eventually spoke up again. "Are we sure he'll want to join us, though?" she asked. "Leave that to me," Turles replied.

Taro nodded again. "Right. I'll let you talk to him first. The guy that he pretty much hates. Because that'll go well," she said, sarcastically. "Just trust me, okay?" Turles replied. Taro sighed. "I don't know," she said. "I don't want you to screw up our chance to reunite with our brother."

Turles nodded, but he remained silent. "What if I don't have to recruit him?" he thought, as a nasty thought crept into his mind. He had a nephew that he could make off with, after all- and he could always go and find Raditz, too…

It was all starting to come together perfectly- Turles' plan to dispose of Frieza and rule the universe for himself!

So there we are, folks: Chapter 13!

Chapter 14 is still under construction, so to speak. It'll probably be a bit before I get that one done and posted. And even that's not gonna be the last one: Chapter 15 or 16 will probably wrap it up. There's a big fight planned for when Bardock and Turles finally reunite...no spoilers, though.

I'm not sure how long I want it to last (or how much detail I want to go into with it) so it could take multiple chapters. Just know that there will be one more chapter of Turles building his crew, and then they're bound for Earth. Bardock had better be ready.

I hope you guys will enjoy this one!

Signing off for now, as usual!

-Robbtastic01.